ROYAL Welsh organisers face an anxious 48-hour wait as the next batch of bluetongue vaccine heads to Wales.

If the vaccine arrives before the weekend, farmers in south west Wales will be able to jab their livestock – but won’t be able to take their animals to the Royal Welsh Show.

The next delivery of 1.5m vaccine doses is expected imminently and Wales chief vet Dr Christianne Glossop said a bluetongue protection zone will be implemented in the south west as soon as it arrives.

Goats, sheep and cattle in livestock-intensive Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire will then be subject to movement standstills.

As farmers in south east Wales are already prevented from showing at Builth Wells for the same reason, it would mean a third of potential Welsh livestock entries would be missing from the four-day spectacular

However latest indications are that vaccine will not be available until next week, leaving the Royal Welsh unaffected.

Dr Glossop insisted protection of livestock took precedence over key events such as shows and sales.

And she emphasised that the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society shared her determination to put livestock first.

“The Royal Welsh organisers have been absolute gentlemen. They have contingency plans covering every possible scenario but they’ve always been determined to safeguard the interests of Welsh livestock.

“I understand the show is a high-profile event and a showcase for Welsh farming but protecting livestock is more important.”

Delivery of the next batch of vaccine will also impact on the timing of key breeding stock sales this autumn.

Disease expects have warned that infection could be just around the corner. There have already been 10 new cases of bluetongue in France this summer – nine BTV1 and one BTV8.

Some suspect the midge-borne disease could already be in the UK and is circulating undetected – as happened last year when bluetongue was present for almost two months before it was eventually confirmed.